Ren'Py 8.0 and Ren'Py 7.5 Released

[PyTom]

I'd like to announce Ren'Py 8.0.0, the first release of Ren'Py based on Python 3. This release modernizes Ren'Py by embracing a decade of Python development, and brings the many improvements of Python 3.9 to Ren'Py.

I'd also like to announce Ren'Py 7.5, a continuation of the Ren'Py 7 series, supporting Python 2.7 and all platforms Ren'Py 7.4 supported, while bringing you many of the new features of Ren'Py 8.0.

Ren'Py 8.0 and Ren'Py 7.5 are the first in what is planned to be a joint series of releases. Ren'Py 8.0:

• Adds support for Python 3, which is recommended for all new games.

• Removes support for 32-bit Windows and Linux.

• Temporarily removes support for the web platform, to be added back in a near-future release.

Ren'Py 7.5:

• Continues support for Python 2.7, to allow current games to release.

• Improves support for the web platform, including:

• Workarounds for changes introduced by web browsers that caused the browser to consume more memory when running Ren'Py, resulting in RangeErrors.

• Detecting if the audio types supported by your game are available, and falling back if they are.

Ren'Py 8.0 and 7.5 are released in parallel, and share the same source code, which means the bulk of changes apply to both versions, including:

• Support for the Visual Studio Code text editor, including the Ren'Py Language extension. This extension include support for many advanced including live diagnostics and an outline. It also allows access to many other Visual Studio Code extensions.

• The new ``dismiss`` and ``nearrect`` displayables provide support for pop-up tooltips and drop-down menus.

• A rewritten wrapper for Steamworks that supports the full API. This allows for Steam Deck integration, including automatically setting a "steam_deck" variant and displaying the on-screen keyboard.

• Improvements to how graphics work on Android and iOS, improving compatibility with those devices.

• Over 140 issues - a mix of fixes and feature requests - have been addressed in this release.

Downloads of 8.0.0 can be found at:

https://www.renpy.org/release/8.0.0

Downloads of 7.5.0 can be found at:

https://www.renpy.org/release/7.5.0

A full list of changes to Ren'Py can be found at:

https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/changelog.html

A list of changes that may require you to update your game can be found at:

https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/incompatible.html

Please also check out the credits and sponsor list.


I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to theses release, everyone who tested these releases and provided valuable feedback, and as always, everyone who uses Ren'Py to create.

[Nikolai]

Thank you so, so, so much for this, PyTom! This represents a staggering amount of work, and I can't thank you enough for it!

That said, I was wondering if you planned to move Ren'Py 8 along with versions of Python 3 as time went on, or whether you were planning to stick with Python 3.9. (Python 3.10's pattern-matching match/case statements strike me as extremely useful for handling a lot of VN-type decisions.)

I'm not trying to dictate anything, or to sound ungrateful. I'd just like to know what you think the road ahead looks like for Ren'Py.

And regardless of what you decide -- thank you!

[PyTom]

That said, I was wondering if you planned to move Ren'Py 8 along with versions of Python 3 as time went on, or whether you were planning to stick with Python 3.9. (Python 3.10's pattern-matching match/case statements strike me as extremely useful for handling a lot of VN-type decisions.)

Fundamentally, yes.

My goal is to track the stable branch of https://github.com/msys2-contrib/cpython-mingw , and update on a fairly regular basis. If I was to update today, It'd be to 3.10, but I'll probably wait until they suport 3.11 to update. The reason for this branch is that Ren'Py's Python is cross-compiled from Linux, and so mingw is a good way to get that working. A secondary reason is that the official Python for Windows only supports Windows 10, and I think it's a bit too early to drop support for Windows 7 entirely.

[Reikun]

For someone who recently started a project in 7.4.11 would it be better to update to 7.5 or 8? It uses quite a lot of python (for a VN) but mostly in simple ways (classes, dictionaries, functions for NPC actions.. nothing extremely complicated since I'm the sole non-programmer coding the whole thing lol). I'm assuming Python 3 would be mostly compatible with simple things in Python 2, or would it just be safer to update to 7.5? Thank you so much for everything PyTom!

[zmook]

For someone who recently started a project in 7.4.11 would it be better to update to 7.5 or 8?

You should read about the differences between Python 2 and 3. eg, https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/important ... 20operator

The new integer division operator is probably the most common issue for Renpy code. The changes in syntax for looping on dict keys and values are another.

Also, how big a deal is it for you to re-test your whole game? If you recently started and expect to keep working on it for a long time, probably better to go to 8.0.

If you want to follow up, maybe start a new Question instead of using this thread.

[lobotomista]

i remember an old post that mentioned that one of the goals for the next big release (which i at the time tough would be 8.0) was to add 3D support to ren'py is that gone or just pushed to 9.0?

[PyTom]

There's some 3d support since 7.4 (check out the 3d stage documentation). More will be coming in future releases (8.1, 8.2 etc.)

[thelastsecret]

This sounds amazing and must have been an incredible amount of work! We, makers of VNs, can only say a big thank you to you and then we should do our best to make good use of your efforts to produce wonderful games with it!